What I did on my blog vacation.

I'm here, I'm here! I had surgery last Monday - don't worry, it wasn't anything dire or life-threatening - but it was hard to sit at the computer. Luckily I could do LOTS of knitting while lying down! That is, after Tuesday, when I flushed the nasty Demerol/Phenergen stuff they had me on in favor of good old Extra Strength Tyelonol. I figure, Tylenol got me through the birth of 3 kiddos averaging 10 pounds each - it could get me through this!

Anyway, here is the first of my two Recovery Projects. This little shrug in Prism Stuff (One and one-half skeins) from their Book 41 was so ingenious. Prism Owner Laura Bryant says it's a "true beginner's project" - and I am proof, since it was doable even on the Demerol. It's basically just a garter-stitch rectangle with tapered ends. You fold it in half, sew two seams to form the sleeves, and voila! This is going to be fun with my usual Loops Uniform of jeans and cami:

Here's the back:

And here's the cuff. This required four, count 'em four, crochet stitches. Billie Anne would be so proud! This shows the depth of color in the shrug, which looked a little more washed out in the other pics. I used three other yarns from the trunk show for the trim: Trieste, Bowen and my favorite, Roccocco - looks just like hand-dyed ricrac.


Recovery Project #2 was my first Scribble Lace. It's hardly even lace at all - just knit, purl and about as much fun as you can have with a #17 needle. This technique is discussed in "Mason Dixon Knitting" or you can just check out this free Knitty pattern for all the how-to's. Gina. H. got me started when I saw this little confection she was whipping up, vampire-style, in Alchemy Haiku and Prism Tulle:


Since I'm allergic to mohair, I opted for Suss Fishnet (a lacy alpaca blend) and Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon:


And here's the yarn:


If you like the Knitty version, you'll be happy to know we have plenty of Berroco Hip Hop and Rowan Kid Silk Haze in stock! Or go through your stash and put some crazy colors together - it's even more fun when the colors clash a bit, so the bulky yarn or ribbon seems to be floating in an ethereal haze of lace.

Now it's off to get my stitches taken out. I'm thinking of it as casting off a really big project! Whoopee!

- Shelley
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